Friday, May 2, 2008

Kitchen Table

Kitchen Table

The kitchen table is often a gathering place in many homes. This is true at my mother’s house, as you can always find her sitting there. She spends a lot of time there, and I suspect the reason is that she can’t stand any of the things her husband watches on television. If I go to visit her, I know just where to find her, and I know that if I stay, I’ll be sitting there with her. This has always been the way things go there, and I imagine it will be that way for a long time to come.

My mother hasn’t been to my house many times because it’s a long driver for her. However, the first time she did make it up, she was dismayed to find that I didn’t have a kitchen table. I have one, but it’s usually covered with bills, clean clothes, or whatever crafts my daughter has been doing that day. We rarely eat at my kitchen table, so it’s never really clean and spotless. There are always reasons to use it for something else, and the biggest reason is space.

My place is small, and my kitchen table is actually in what should be the dining room. It’s not a dining room though; it’s just a small extension of the kitchen. This is the only place where one might put a kitchen table, and due to lack of space, I have to use it to fold laundry and as a catchall for whatever comes in the house that day. She told me she’d come visit more when I have a proper kitchen table for her to use, though I know she is only kidding. It’s a long running family joke about my mom and her table, and she loves to play along.

If your kitchen table is more of a gathering place than anything else, you may know what I am talking about. It doesn’t matter where you meet up, as long as you do. Even though we don’t really eat there now, I know one day we will. Sometimes the amount of space you have dictates how you do things. My mother understands this, but it doesn’t stop her from asking me if I have gotten my kitchen table cleaned off each time she calls. One day, I think I might do it just to surprise her, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll even buy a tablecloth.

Kitchen Wallpaper Designs

Choosing wallpaper for your kitchen is something that needs to be ordered with care. It’s not that papering in this important room of your house shouldn’t be done, but it’s a room that has a lot of stuff going on in it. No other room expect your bathroom, has as much temperature change as this room. Check out what you need to consider if you want to paper in this room with your kitchen wallpaper.

You’ve got to live with the design, and if you don’t choose wisely you might tear it down. Worse yet, you might just dread going into the kitchen area, and a few meals might be skipped too. Remember, before you wallpaper that it will be the most noticeable thing you can do to that area of the house. The walls in your kitchen are the pallet for decorating because it defines the style and entire look of the kitchen area. Kitchen wallpaper is a great idea, and you shouldn’t be limited with other ideas like border too.

It comes in a variety of different styles, and the cost of it ranges from high to low priced. If you’re concerned about price, look around for sales. Be wary though, when sale prices are at rock bottom, you might not find enough paper to cover the area you want in your kitchen. Usually, a medium priced paper is the best way to go, but before you stick it to your walls; you’ll need to read how to clean it. For an easy to clean wallpaper, use washable wallpaper for your kitchen wallpaper.

Cleaning it is only half the battle. If you don’t want a type that is paper thin, and easily absorbs dirt and grime, then pick one that is heavy and with a plastic coating on the outside. Believe it or not, certain wallpapers come with a plastic coating on the outside. You can wash the walls down without tearing the paper, but always use the recommended cleaning solution on it. The goal is not to destroy the plastic poly covering on your kitchen wallpaper.

Style considerations are the color of your counter tops, and the pattern on your floor. If you’ve got a busy floor, pick kitchen wallpaper that is neutral in color and one that enhances your floor pattern. The color of your cabinets and draperies in the area are important too. Don’t ever paper and then change them. You could tear it, but it could certainly clash with the colors. It would be heartbreaking to plan and work on the walls, and then have to change the kitchen wallpaper.

Finally, there are all kinds to choose from, but make sure it’s what you like, and that it makes you feel great about preparing meals. It might be a good idea to just put a border up, or only wallpaper one side of the room for the right effect of kitchen wallpaper in that hard working area of your house.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Floor designs - an important aspect of kitchen

Floor designs are an important aspect of kitchen modeling that has to be given its due importance when planning. It is the area that is used roughly on a regular basis as it takes the brunt of the walking and moving around. It is advisable to give some forethought to the floor designing before implementing it, as any future alterations and modifications prove to be more difficult and expensive.

It has been noted that although buyers feel an attraction towards Italian tiles and other hard floorings, they are happier walking on softer surfaces. Floors that have padded carpeting and laminating offer softer surfaces to walk on. It is also advisable to choose neutral and light colors for floor surfaces, as they generally don't clash with any furnishings. It is beneficial to weigh the cost against the benefit ratio when going in for particular flooring. It is also advisable to install kitchen flooring, before installing any of the appliances and equipment.

The modern theory is to install earth-friendly flooring. This is flooring that is eco friendly and do not involve any artificial products. It is noted that upscale market buyers who have the money and the inclination for environment friendly floorings are known to go in for cork and bamboo flooring. This flooring is nature friendly as also easily renewable.

Cork is made from the bark of oak trees and are available for flooring. They are very soft under the feet and also acts as a good sound barrier. Bamboo looks very appealing, with its natural colors of brown to tans, and adds beauty and grace to the kitchen floor. Its distinct grain patterns are also noticed to give visual depth and help the room look larger.

Design psychology is a field that is used to help customers choose the right design for them through certain parameters. The strategy ensures that the customers choose the floor of their choice whether it is simple or elaborately elegant.

Potential kitchen designs

When you're trying think of potential kitchen designs it can be a long and difficult process. After all there are so many colour schemes and cabinet designs and appliances and a hundred other things to choose from, that getting the right combination is incredibly difficult.

The best way to sort through everything is to come up with a few designs based on one central theme for your kitchen. For example, many people like the kitchen styles that are synonymous with a certain country or region, hence why Italian and Spanish kitchen design are so popular. By choosing a theme you can narrow down your search and look for much more specific things to build up your kitchen design.

or some others, their designs will be dictated by the shape and size of their kitchen. For instance if you have to plan a small kitchen, then your choices will be much more limited and your designs will have to be built around coming up with clever storage solutions and fitting things in.

A great way of finding focus when things get confusing is to think about exactly what you want from your kitchen and what you're trying to achieve. You can then write a list of all the essential things you need and go from there. The style and look can come much later and you can find ideas from showrooms and looking online.

Also get hold of some software to play around with. This can be incredibly beneficial because you can input the exact dimensions of your kitchen into the system and then play around with different colour schemes and styles. This can prove an excellent source of inspiration if you're struggling to come up with kitchen designs you like.

The basic rule of kitchen design is very simple - plan. By planning ahead and thinking about every tiny detail, you'll leave yourself less open to things going wrong. The problem with kitchen design is that one small thing can trigger and domino effect and send your whole vision tumbling down. Don't get caught out like this and plan for everything well in advance.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Kitchen Cabinet Lighting - Todays Kitchen Design Ideas

A well-lit cooking area can make the difference between great dinners and questionable cuisine. However, many of today’s kitchen decorating ideas involves dark-colored counter tops and cabinets stained in deep, rich colors. While these features are quite attractive, they can leave your cooking are a little dark. Kitchen cabinet lighting can be the answer to shedding some light on you cooking space.

The common color for rooms in which cooking takes place used to be white, or white. The standard light-colored rooms required relatively little lighting due to the reflective quality of the white appliances and light-colored cabinets. Even the floors were white. There was little use for kitchen cabinet lighting because one light usually produced enough illumination.

During the 1970’s white was replaced with browns, oranges and mustard-yellow colors that gave the room a little character but did little for illuminating the cooking space. This darker lighting scheme paved the way to kitchen cabinet lighting in a round-about way. You can’t cook well if you can’t see well.

The necessity for proper lighting in the cooking space did not immediately lead to kitchen cabinet lighting. Many homeowners in the 1970’s chose to add fluorescent lights to their kitchens and baths to shed some more light into these rooms. Kitchen cabinet lighting became mainstreamed a little later in kitchen decorating ideas.

Many people have difficulty staying in rooms that have fluorescent lights because this type of illumination “moves” or vibrates on the onlookers’ eyes. Most people are not bothered by this but others wind up with awful headaches when exposed to this type of lighting for an extended period of time.

It is unknown whether or not the person who invented kitchen cabinet lighting was bother by fluorescents or not but I would wager to guess that this inventor was not a big fan. Kitchen cabinet lighting serves basically the same function as fluorescent lights. It simply makes the area brighter and lighter without irritating sensitive eyes.

Kitchen cabinet lighting has become a mainstay in today’s kitchen. You can choose from a variety of styles and from an array of innovative designs that will make your cooking area attractive as well as functional.

The combination of form and function is an integral part of today’s kitchen design ideas and among those ideas is kitchen cabinet lighting. After all, what is the point of having attractive kitchen decorating ideas put into action if you can’t see them?

Vareity And Styles Of Kitchen Wallpaper

Choosing wallpaper for your kitchen is something that needs to be ordered with care. It’s not that papering in this important room of your house shouldn’t be done, but it’s a room that has a lot of stuff going on in it. No other room expect your bathroom, has as much temperature change as this room. Check out what you need to consider if you want to paper in this room with your kitchen wallpaper.

You’ve got to live with the design, and if you don’t choose wisely you might tear it down. Worse yet, you might just dread going into the kitchen area, and a few meals might be skipped too. Remember, before you wallpaper that it will be the most noticeable thing you can do to that area of the house. The walls in your kitchen are the pallet for decorating because it defines the style and entire look of the kitchen area. Kitchen wallpaper is a great idea, and you shouldn’t be limited with other ideas like border too.

It comes in a variety of different styles, and the cost of it ranges from high to low priced. If you’re concerned about price, look around for sales. Be wary though, when sale prices are at rock bottom, you might not find enough paper to cover the area you want in your kitchen. Usually, a medium priced paper is the best way to go, but before you stick it to your walls; you’ll need to read how to clean it. For an easy to clean wallpaper, use washable wallpaper for your kitchen wallpaper.

Cleaning it is only half the battle. If you don’t want a type that is paper thin, and easily absorbs dirt and grime, then pick one that is heavy and with a plastic coating on the outside. Believe it or not, certain wallpapers come with a plastic coating on the outside. You can wash the walls down without tearing the paper, but always use the recommended cleaning solution on it. The goal is not to destroy the plastic poly covering on your kitchen wallpaper.

Style considerations are the color of your counter tops, and the pattern on your floor. If you’ve got a busy floor, pick kitchen wallpaper that is neutral in color and one that enhances your floor pattern. The color of your cabinets and draperies in the area are important too. Don’t ever paper and then change them. You could tear it, but it could certainly clash with the colors. It would be heartbreaking to plan and work on the walls, and then have to change the kitchen wallpaper.

Finally, there are all kinds to choose from, but make sure it’s what you like, and that it makes you feel great about preparing meals. It might be a good idea to just put a border up, or only wallpaper one side of the room for the right effect of kitchen wallpaper in that hard working area of your house.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Trendy Kitchen In Interior Designs

For years, the kitchen was neglected in New York City, and regarded as that room that nobody goes into. More and more people, however, have finally realized that the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house - not just to cook, but to feel at home in. Families converge in kitchens, and there's nothing that smells like home more than something great cooking in the oven or on a state-of-the-art stove top.

Here are some of the hottest kitchen trends in interior design and renovation that suit city life, and bring home and hearth for those who eat, as well as for those who cook.

Go with the Flow:

And make your kitchen an integral part of your living area with open spaces. An open kitchen allows everyone to hang out while the pasta sauce is simmering on your stove, while you pay your bills, or while the kids have their after school snack in the kitchen table. When you look out from your kitchen, isn't it nice to see your living area, a glimpse of the dining room, and maybe even a view from your living room window?

Continue your flooring from the kitchen to the living room to create a feeling of space.

An Island Adventure:

Having an island is becoming more and more functional in today's kitchen. There are eating islands with bar stools, there are cooking islands with a stove top, and very often an oven, and there are preparation islands, equipped with a second sink, a garbage disposal, and lots and lots of drawers for easy access. If you can plan your kitchen with an island in mind you will benefit from beautiful design and a convenient work area that will provide your kitchen with extra space.

Clean it Up!

One of the hippest trends in kitchen design is imported from Europe. Long, clean lines, kitchen cabinets all at the same height, lots of stainless steel, clean cabinet doors with simple handles, and long stretches of open counter space. The resulting look is clean, crisp, and modern. You can twist the modern look by curving your angles - make your island half-moon shaped rather than rectangular, or one part of your counter and cabinets flow with a sweeping curve. To complete the look add stainless steel appliances.

Culture Shock:

A recent trend in kitchen design is to apply an ethnic look and feel to the kitchen, emphasizing a specific country style: Santa Fe, Tuscan, French modern, Old English, Mexican, Spanish, and so on. The important thing when doing your kitchen cultural, is to pick one theme and stick to it. Don't mix and match too much - Santa Fe styles have more than enough color on their own without mixing in Provencal. These kitchens are usually more "country," than modern, but certainly are homey, and when well designed, a masterpiece to eat in!

Steel Sharp:

Stainless steel is back, as the lit torch for modern, sleek, new kitchens. High-end kitchens tend to emphasize the shiny (or matte ) steel design in appliances, cabinet fixtures and assorted kitchen accessories.

Stainless steel gives your kitchen an extremely clean feeling. It appears sanitary, and it gives a kitchen that "this is a real cooking place" feeling. Stainless steel countertops and appliances are very popular at restaurants and large kitchens.

Colorful Appliances:

Some of the bolder home decorators are brining color to their kitchen appliances. It started with the rainbow hues of the KitchenAid mixer, and has more recently been seen on refrigerators, ovens, blenders, and even Aga stoves. This unique touch of color on appliances that used to be white, beige, or steel at best, is bringing even more life to the new center of the house. A red refrigerator, a purple Aga, or even a cheerfully yellow KitchenAid can give your kitchen that extra spicy punch!

Modern Kitchen Designs

In years gone by the kitchen was solely the domain of the mother or female of the house. Over the years that has changed dramatically what with more single males having to cook for themselves, the rise in popularity of cookery programs with celebrity male chefs and it generally being more accepted for a man to do the cooking.

This is wonderful (especially if you're a mother or the female of the house) as it has brought about a complete re-think in the way the modern house is built.

The kitchen used to be the room where the cooking was done the small room at the back of the house with no other real purpose than to prepare meals and maybe to keep the washing machine. Today the kitchen is a focal point of the house. Homes are designed with this in mind, big open plan dining room kitchens that can house grand dining tables, breakfast bars and any amount of seats for guests. It's no surprise that most house parties end up in the kitchen!

Most modern built kitchens are basically built around the user with counter tops, appliances and sink surrounding the user and as open as possible so the whole family are included in the cooking rather than the chef being excluded from the family.

As well as being as open as possible the kitchen is now a very personal work of design, your kitchen makes a statement about you. The materials that you build your kitchen out of reflect your personality, materials such as, stainless steel, glass, solid wood, MDF or even stone area all commonly used in modern day kitchen design.

It isn't always about being modern either. Many people chose to go retro and build in an open fire or AGA type stove to add that country cottage feel to their kitchen.

The kitchen market is massive. In 2004 the kitchen furniture market alone was worth in excess of £500m in Great Britain and Eire, this includes worktops and sinks but not appliances!

With more and more kitchen appliances appliances coming on to the market each year you can begin to understand exactly how big the whole business of kitchens has got over the past five - ten years. Virtually every home now has a fridge and a dish-washer, many have a waste disposal sink and on top of this virtually every home in the land will have a cooker, a toaster, a kettle, a coffee maker and a food processor.

And when you think of all the makes and models that are available of each individual appliance it really can get quite daunting.

All the variation that is available to the kitchen buyer of today can only make it that bit more important to make sure that your kitchen reflects you and your life style and when you start adding up the cost of those decisions it's even more important to get it right first time.

So just remember that whatever your lifestyle, bachelor, family, singleton or young couple, if you only have the money to make one room in your house stand out from the rest make sure it's the kitchen. You won't regret it.

I try to pass on my musings on life and experiences in a way that people may find interesting to read.